Models Trending Northward, Snow Becoming Likely Along I-70 this Weekend

In my last post I commented on how the possibility existed for a near repeat performance for portions of the Southeast with more wintry precipitation late this week into the start of the weekend. Well, I am not as convinced anymore and it appears a double-barreled low will set up with one heading up from the Gulf Coast into the Ohio Valley while another will spin up off the northeastern Florida coast and head northward. This will be in response to two pieces of energy, one in the southern jetstream and the other in the northern jet, working and phasing together. The end result will be another widespread winter storm across the U.S. In general, the southern edge of the snow with this system will be along the northern edge of the heavier snow from the one last weekend. That gives you a general idea of who may see accumulating snow this time around.

First, though, a system will spin up and move north up along the Atlantic coast tonight while a Clipper like system will move through the Great Lakes. The Clipper system will put down a wide area of 1"-3" of snow from Minnesota-Wisconsin-New York. The southern edge will make it as far south as the I-80 corridor. The system that moves up the Atlantic coast; however, will provide a swath of heavier snow, generally 2" to 4" from northwest Virginia into southeast Pennsylvania. That includes the Washington DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia metro areas.

By Wednesday evening we will begin to see the first snow associated with the next BIG storm system. Snow will begin to develop over New Mexico and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma. Through the day, Wednesday, snow will spread further northward through Plains heading as far north as southern South Dakota and westward into in the central Rockies. The heaviest snow will be confined, though, from New Mexico into western Oklahoma, where a wide swath of 3" to 6" is likely by Wednesday evening. That means more snow for Amarillo and the I-40 corridor from Albuquerque to Elk City, Oklahoma.

Friday, the snow spreads east along the I-70 corridor making it as far east as Indianapolis before day's end. Much of the Plains will see 2"-5" of snow will this system Thursday into Friday. The heaviest snow will likely fall, Friday into early Saturday, along the I-70 corridor from Columbia, Missouri, through the St. Louis metro area into Indianapolis, Indiana. I am anticipating this area to see a wide swath of 4" to 8". This area of snow will be in relationship to low #1. The 2^nd low of the double barrel low will be moving up the Atlantic coast Friday into Saturday. That will allow additional snow to begin breaking out across northern Virginia, Maryland and into southern Pennsylvania. As the first low moves into the Ohio Valley, it will blend its moisture field with that of the Atlantic coastal low. This will provide a wide area of 4" to 8" snow from central Missouri to the Atlantic Coast along the I-70 corridor. In fact, even higher amounts of snow will pile up over the nation's capital into southern Pennsylvania. This storm will have the potential, if the track stays as seen today, of putting down another 12"+ snow for DC and Baltimore. It would not surprise me if this storm provides the season's highest snowfall from a single storm for many along the I-70 corridor from central Missouri into Ohio. Not sure it will be able to top the pre-Christmas storm, though, for the Mid-Atlantic but it may try to give it a run.

For those of you in the South who may want snow, don't give up hope. Models are indicating that behind this storm system a shot of cold will follow. Then yet another storm is forecast to spin out of Texas and along the Gulf coast middle of next week. I will keep an eye on that one and we will see.